


This one was just weird

by FandomABurr1



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Bro just wants Cal back, But Cal doesn't want him, Dave's just tryna help a friend's friend, Eridan's practically dying, M/M, Rose is just confused, sorry bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 06:52:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17913911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomABurr1/pseuds/FandomABurr1
Summary: When you arrive at the Strider household to find Eridan Ampora curled on the couch, knees to his chest, face buried in Li'l Cal’s chest, you’re more than perplexed.





	This one was just weird

When you arrive at the Strider household to find Eridan Ampora curled on the couch, knees to his chest, face buried in lil’ Cal’s chest, you’re more than perplexed. You stare at him for a good minute or so but he doesn’t seem to notice. He seems upset just judging by his body language and body language is never enough to know the whole story.

You’re very sure that your brother has never met Eridan which makes this situation even more confusing. You slip by without him noticing (or at least you hope he doesn’t notice) and into the kitchen. You grab the worn phone from the wall and dial Dave’s number. It takes a while for him to pick up but he eventually does and greets you first.

“What’s up?”

“It’s Rose. I’m just wondering, why is there a sea troll on your couch?”

“A what?”

“David. Do not play dumb.”

“Sorry I’m not sure you have the right number.”

“I’m your sister. I know your voice.”

“I- fuck, fine. I don’t really have an explanation right now- can you call back later?”

“Absolutely not. What’s going on?”

“You think I know? Karkat left him with me- dude’s a fuckin mess.”

“Did Karkat say anything?”

“Not a single fucking word other than ‘dipshit’. I don’t even know which one of us he was talking to.”

“What happened after that?”

“The guy- what’s his name?”

“Eridan. His name is Eridan.”

You suddenly hear a voice directly behind you.

“If you’re gonna sneak in and talk about me while I’m in the other room, at least be a little quieter.”

You turn to meet eyes with Eridan. He doesn’t look too good.

“This may be a bit rude but- why are you here?”

“That’s frankly none a your goddamn business.”

You sigh. 

“Rose? You still there?” Dave asks from the other end.

“I’m here. Give me a minute.”

You look down to see Cal still pressed close to Eridan. You’re surprised Eridan isn’t dead yet. He almost looks like a child hugging Cal in his arms.

“So you like puppets?”

He glances down at Cal.

“No. I actually hate them. This thing was just everywhere so I gave up and grabbed it. Figured there was no point in throwing it across the room a 15th time.”

Strange. You find this very strange.

“Dave, it seems Cal’s taken a liking to your new friend here.”

“He’s really not my friend.” Dave mumbled.

Suddenly, you feel a brief gust of wind. It’s Bro who has just flash stepped into the kitchen. Eridan’s hair shifts a bit and you wonder how he can be so casual with a katana pressed against his throat.

“Who the hell is this?” Bro asks, gaze on Eridan as he speaks.

“A friend of Dave’s.”

“Then where the fuck is Dave?” Bro asks as he slowly lowers the blade.

“I’m actually not sure.” You hum. “Dave, I think it’s best you get here fast.” You speak into the old phone.

“Yeah I’m on the way.”

“How irresponsible do you have to be to leave your guest at home alone with your borderline insane brother?”

“Yeah I got it, Rose.”

“Seriously, Eridan could be dead at the moment, not that it’s my problem.”

“Better than having to breathe every second of every day.” Eridan pipes up. You basically ignore him.

“Rose, chill. I’m almost there.”

“If you take more than 10 to 15 minutes, I’ll be forced to remove Eridan from this home.” Eridan rolls his eyes.

“What? Why? Fuck are you talking about?”

“I’m sure D said no unauthorized guests allowed.”

“Why do I care? Not like he’s there.”

You sigh.

“Be quick.”

“Will do, Lalonde.”

————

“Alright so Karkat filled me in.” Dave says as he enters to find Bro trying to pry Cal from Eridan’s hands. Rose is doing nothing to stop them, she apparently knows better. 

They pause before Eridan throws his weight on Bro, knocking him over and holding Cal away from him. You’ve never seen someone take your bro down before and it’s a little scary that this guy can think faster than Bro. That’s almost impossible.

When Eridan settles on the couch with Cal, Bro still on the floor, you continue. He’s speaking to Rose.

“Apparently this guy-,” you points to Eridan, “‘s been throwing up a shit ton of blood and Karkat’s got nowhere else to leave him.”

“Throwing up blood? Shouldn’t he be in a hospital?” Rose inquires.

“That’s what I said. Like, what the fuck? I’m not a doctor but I’m pretty sure this kid’s dying. So I said this to Karkat and he goes ‘he didn’t wanna go, fuckass’. But clearly he needs to go anyway, right?”

Eridan gives you a hard glare as Bro exits the room.

“I’m fine. Just need to sleep it off or some shit.”

“Dude. You sleep off a cold, not throwing up your insides. How the hell do you even take care of something like this? This never happened to me.”

“Course it didn’t. You’re not getting kicked in the gut all the time.”

“What? Who was- what?”

Eridan avoids eye contact so you look to Rose instead. She looks concerned but in that subtle “can’t let this dick know I care” kinda way. She excuses herself, leaving you to stare at Eridan who looks incredibly tiny curled up the way he is.

“Dude, are you alright?”

“Fine. Nothing new.” You hesitate as you plant yourself on the couch beside him.

“What’s going on?”

You aren’t big on physical contact (despite the fact that you’re basically touch starved) so the best you can do is rest a hand on his shoulder. He looks up at you through his glasses and a small piece of hair falls in front of his eyes.

You’d seen pictures of him before but this was your first time seeing him up close. And it makes you seriously wonder how he’s single. Even without gel holding his hair in place, it looks perfect. He’s got these tiny freckles that look like they’re shining and a little lilac flush on his cheeks. 

His eyes are a very vibrant shade of violet and you would stare all day if your attention wasn’t brought to the glitter of a diamond. Not one, not two, but five diamonds decorate one of his earfin and you stare for a bit until you bring your hand up to brush the fin. He shudders at the touch for a moment. 

“Did these hurt, man?” You blurt out. You don’t know where it came from but you have to ask and you know you’re seriously invading his space when you mess with the earrings but he really doesn’t seem to mind too much.

“Not really. Just a little sting.” You also know he’s lying when you poke his fin a little harder and he flinches. They’re easily damaged and you know it actually hurt like a bitch when some needle stuck through there five times.

You maintain eye contact for a while before he turns away and runs a hand through his hair, actively forcing it into place. 

You hear Rose clear her throat and you pull your hand away from him as though he burned you. Which is actually impossible seeing as sea trolls are cold blooded and he let off a little chill when you get close enough.

“Karkat says he needs Eridan to stay here for a while.” Eridan frowns.

“I have a home. I don’t need to stay here.” He huffs, though his voice changes when he says ‘home’. You figure the whole “kicked in the gut” thing causes his waver in confidence for a moment. 

“A home that isn’t safe. Though, if you really wish to return, we won’t stop you.” You give Rose a bewildered look and she shrugs. 

“Yeah, no. You’re gonna stay here with me and Bro- and Dirk whenever he gets home.” You turn to Rose, “I’m not just gonna let him go home to a place like that if what I’m thinking about his home life is true.” Rose sighs. She seems to forget Eridan is in the room and can listen to every word she says.

“It’s his decision, Dave. It’s not like you can chain him up and force him to stay.” You both look to Eridan who seems content in mumbling to Cal.

“He’s clearly busy, Lalonde. Can’t just fuck with a guy and his puppet convo. He can just let me make the decision” 

“I doubt he’d want that. Eridan?”

Eridan looks up at Rose.

“Dave can make the decision.” He says carefully before turning to Dave. “Am I staying?” He asks. He doesn’t know it but the facts that he’s leaving this in your hands feels extremely rewarding.

You give Rose a “I told you so” kinda grin before nodding to Eridan.

“You’re stayin’, my man.” The smile you give him rivals the fucking sun at this point. You both look back at Rose, you grinning and Eridan fighting the purple flush crawling across his face.

Rose shakes her head.

“You’re already in love. Once you fall for a Strider, you never come back.” Eridan’s eyes are wide and his face is purple when you look at him again.

“Love? What? Are you- that’s- no!” He quickly resigns to grumbling to Cal about how dumb the accusation truly is. You only laugh.

You’re sure having him around will be wonderful.


End file.
